Taoiseach ‘sincerely’ optimistic about reopening of hotel services as he provides an update on Leaving Cert

TAOISEACH Michael Martin has said he is “sincerely” optimistic that the public health restrictions of Covid-19 will be narrowed by the end of this month.

Speaking on RTE’s The Late Late Show, Fianna Fail’s boss said the government “wants to ease restrictions” and hopes for a speedy recovery for the hospitality sector.

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Mr. Martin said: “It is stabilizing here, now the progress has been clearly seen, the hospital lines are definitely stable and the acute ones, no matter how seriously the patients are, they will definitely go to other waves.

“Omicron hasn’t entered the ICU to the extent that people fear it. Quite a few people in the ICU are still Delta patients. That’s very good news.

“I think we’re over the top at this stage, which gives me optimism.”

Mr Martin defended the 8pm curfew for the hotel sector, saying: “Basically we want to reduce the movement rate by 20 to 30 per cent to reduce gatherings.

“They correctly felt that we could stop the impact of Omicron if we delayed it and just reduced it.”

Taoiseach says he also “doesn’t completely rule out” the option for a combined Leaving Certificate, between an accredited score and a written exam, for 2022.

He said he was trying to move away from “wartime” solutions and hybrid systems that come with level inflation and put pressure on a third level system.

He said there will be confidence from people in the education industry in the next few weeks and at the latest by the end of February.

This comes as the medical directors reported 17,065 new cases of Covid-19 – 59% of the population use booster vaccines.

A total of 1,023 people are battling the virus in the hospital, of which 83 are in the intensive care unit.

Since the start of the pandemic, Ireland has recorded a total of 1,078,181 positive cases of Covid-19.

In the last week, through Wednesday, January 12, 83 people with the virus have died.

BOOSTER JABS

Ireland’s current 7-day positivity rate is 50.1%.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan said more than 59 per cent of the adult Irish population had received the booster shot.

“We have seen exceptional uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine in Ireland,” he said. To date, 59% of the adult population here has used a booster dose, compared with just 32% across Europe.

“The primary aim of vaccination has always been to prevent serious illness and death – the Covid-19 vaccine continues to demonstrate remarkable effectiveness in this respect and has provided significant protection for vulnerable populations. most vulnerable and our health systems in recent weeks, with increased doses restoring protection against severe illness by up to 90%. Currently, only 20% of people in intensive care have been augmented.

“In addition, we know that people who are strengthened are less likely to get infected and if they are infected, they are less likely to infect others than those who are not.

“It is important that people who have not received a booster vaccine now do so; Appointments are available through immunization centers, GPs, and pharmacies.

HOPE

“Finally, it’s also very important that people who haven’t had any vaccines, for whatever reason, come get it as soon as possible. If they are not vaccinated, they are still the most vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. Your GP, pharmacist, obstetrician or midwife will be happy to discuss any concerns or questions you may have about vaccinations. More information about vaccines can be found at HSE.ie. “

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said there was “certain reason for optimism and hope” amid relatively stable ICU figures.

Dr Glynn said it was “a little too early” to celebrate, but European and Irish data are showing a stabilizing situation in ICUs among those vaccinated. Omicron patient.

He stated that there was “certain reason for optimism and hope” and that another week’s data would provide a bit more insight.

Doctor Glynn told RTE’s Today to Claire Byrne: “It’s clear that on an individual level, if you’re fully vaccinated and boosted it’s pretty certain that you have a very high level of protection against this serious illness from Omicron.

“There are certainly reasons for optimism and hope and we see across Europe that a number of countries have experienced a similar picture to our own in that the numbers in the ICU have remained stable.

“But I think it’s a bit early for us to jump to conclusions about that at this point. We all want it to happen, we all want it to happen and we all want to move on. continue from there.

TOP IS NEAR

“But from our perspective, we need another week’s worth of data and we’ll be looking at all of that next Thursday.”

Dr Glynn said he hoped Ireland made it through the peak of the Omicron wave, and if not, the country is certainly getting close to it.

“Things are going in the right direction, we’re hopeful that if we haven’t passed we are definitely getting close to the pinnacle of this and we can move pretty quickly in the right direction,” he said.